Dilated Peoples’ Rap Overcomes Sound Woes

Dilated Peoples released its debut album, “The Platform,” on Tuesday, and the highly regarded Los Angeles hip-hop group stormed the stage at the El Rey Theatre that night like a trio of excited prizefighters. Rappers Evidence and Rakaa and DJ Babu demonstrated tremendous stage polish during their 70-minute set, playing off one another and maintaining a high level of excitement throughout most of the evening. But when the show should have exploded, technical difficulties sabotaged the group’s mission.

Case in point: During “Right On,” a funky song recorded with the group Tha Alkaholiks, who joined Dilated Peoples onstage, the latter’s microphones didn’t seem to be turned on, a problem that also plagued Evidence throughout the evening.

Even while battling the sound problems, Dilated Peoples excelled during a number of segments. DJ Babu delivered a remarkable solo turntable display, increasing the speed of his scratching as the beat backing him steadily accelerated. When the sound system was up to par, as during the piercing “The Last Line of Defense” and the pulsating, set-closing “Work the Angles,” Dilated Peoples showed that it’s among the tightest and most energetic acts in hip-hop. If only their microphones were as reliable as they are.